Many medical conditions share overlapping symptoms that can sometimes complicate its accurate diagnosis. Multiple Sclerosis or MS is one such condition. Diagnosis for multiple sclerosis has been a challenge since its neurodegenerative symptoms like numbness, pain, fatigue, slurred speech, mobility issues, and vision problems coincide with other medical conditions.
These errors in diagnosis result from the fact that there is no single test that can determine an MS diagnosis conclusively. If you are experiencing neurological symptoms, do not necessarily mean you have multiple sclerosis (MS), considering there are several other diseases that can mimic it.
What is Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Multiple sclerosis is a progressive autoimmune disease, quite common neurological disease found in young adults. Commonly known as MS, the disease is the disabling of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). In MS, resulting nerve damage disrupts communication between the brain and the body.
Multiple sclerosis occurs when the body’s own immune system attacks the central nervous system, damaging the myelin (a fatty substance) that insulates the wire-like nerve fibers that send signals to and from the brain. This damage to the myelin causes scarring or “sclerosis”– and the more of them (multiple) you have, the worse the condition becomes. When the protective myelin is damaged and nerve fiber is exposed, the messages that travel along that nerve may be slowed or blocked. The nerve may also become damaged itself and these interruptions in the body’s communication system can cause unpredictable symptoms.
Signs & symptoms of multiple sclerosis
The progression and severity of multiple sclerosis vary greatly among individuals.
The symptoms of multiple sclerosis stem from inflammation, swelling, and lesions on the myelin.
Symptoms of multiple sclerosis include:
- Sensations such as tingling, burning or numbness
- Mental difficulties, such as problems with judgment, memory and concentration
- Muscle weakness and difficulty moving arms and legs
- Problems with balance, coordination and walking
- Dizziness and vertigo
- Fatigue
- Sexual dysfunction
- Paralysis
Symptoms of multiple sclerosis generally appear between the ages of 20 and 40 years. People with multiple sclerosis can also experience periods of remission, in which symptoms disappear, and periods of relapse, in which symptoms reappear.
Less common symptoms may include headache, hearing loss, breathing problems, itchiness, tremor, seizures, speech problems and problems swallowing.
Conditions Commonly Mistaken for Multiple Sclerosis
Various combinations of MS symptoms can be present in many other disorders.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society lists two dozen common and rare conditions that should be ruled out before making a diagnosis of MS. Some of these include:
Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause MS-like symptoms, such as fatigue, mental confusion, and numbness and tingling in the hands and feet. Vitamin B-12 is essential for forming and to maintain the myelin sheath, which gets damaged due to MS.
in vitamin B12 deficiency, the myelin sheath surrounding nerve fibers is not formed properly, which impairs nerve signaling. This might make you take the deficiency as MS symptoms.
Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted through a tick bite that can affect the nervous system. Lyme disease can be confused with MS as the effect on the nervous system caused by lyme disease mimics multiple MS-related symptoms like hand and feet numbness, neck pain and stiffness, severe fatigue, short-term memory loss, speech issues, and even facial paralysis.
However, Lyme disease can be differentiated by identifying tick bites and testing for Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme-causing bacteria) antibodies in the blood.
Stroke
A stroke occurs when the brain’s blood and nutrient supply is cut off by the deficit supply of blood. Symptoms of a stroke generally evolve rapidly and include loss of vision; loss of feeling in the limbs, usually on one side of the body; difficulty walking; and difficulty speaking- all of which can be mistaken for Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Lupus
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disorder which attacks the organs, skin and nervous system. Due to symptoms overlapping with multiple conditions, Lupus is often mistaken for MS due to the chronic headaches and fatigue, muscular pain, swollen joints, and seizures that accompany its usual symptoms of anemia, skin rashes, hair loss, and light sensitivity.
Also known as ‘the great imitator’, lupus affects more women than men. Since there is no single diagnostic test for lupus as well, it gets commonly confused with other autoimmune disorders, including MS.
Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD)
NMOSD refers to an inflammatory disease which attacks the myelin sheaths — the protective covering of the nerve fibers — of the optic nerves and spinal cord. Myelin sheath attacks and damage are a common factor between NMOSD and MS. However, symptoms are usually more severe with NMOSD, and vision changes equally affect both eyes.
Getting an accurate diagnosis is extremely important. A blood test known as the NMO IgG antibody test can help to differentiate between MS and NMOSD.
Neuropathy
Neuropathy, or nerve damage, usually refers to “peripheral neuropathy,” or damage to the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord (which make up the central nervous system). This can again can be misdiagnosed as MS.
Similar to people with MS, people with neuropathy may experience loss of coordination, muscle weakness, or difficulty walking or moving their arms or legs. However, there are several kinds of neuropathy — sensory, motor, and autonomic — each with their own set of symptoms, many of which differ from the common symptoms of MS.
Sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis is another inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation in the lungs, skin, liver, and central nervous system. The condition can mimic signs of MS for a misdiagnosis. Sarcoidosis usually affects individuals between 20-40 years of age.
Syphilis
This sexually transmitted disease (STD) often manifests as neurologic symptoms like memory problems, visual disturbances, slurred speech, tremor, sensory disturbances, and difficulties walking.
the condition, however, can be diagnosed through blood or spinal taps to test for syphilis-related antibodies and help distinguish from MS.
Before an MS Diagnosis, it is important that you talk to your doctor and rule out conditions that do not signify any other medical condition.
